Supermarkets warn October no-deal date ‘as bad as it gets’
Written by News on 03/07/2019
Bosses at Britain’s three biggest supermarkets have warned that a potential 31 October no-deal Brexit would be “as bad as it gets” as they build up stock ahead of Christmas.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe said toys and electrical goods could be affected by disruption at UK ports while Asda’s Roger Burnley highlighted the risk of “fresh food sitting in ports rotting”.
Tesco boss Dave Lewis told the BBC that while it had stockpiled some goods ahead of the original March Brexit deadline, it would be more difficult this time with warehouses “full of things getting ready for Christmas so there will be less capacity”.
The warnings come as Tory leadership candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt keep open the possibility of a no-deal scenario, though both say they would prefer to leave with a deal.
Mr Coupe said the 31 October date was “about as bad as it gets”.
“A no-deal scenario would be very disruptive to us, and I think the timing of it means it would be potentially disruptive to people’s Christmases.”
His comments came as Sainsbury’s reported a worsening sales decline for the first quarter of the financial year amid what it described as a “tough retail environment”.
At Asda, Mr Burnley said: “If you’re choosing a time for a dramatic change [to the rules], you wouldn’t be choosing October, for sure.
“Fresh food from Europe is the area of biggest concern and we need to makes sure it’s friction free and can come across the channel as quickly and seamlessly as it does today.
“We don’t want lorries with fresh foods sitting in ports rotting.”
The British Retail Consortium said the 31 October deadline would come at the “worst possible time for retail”.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson it coincided with the “height of preparations for Christmas and Black Friday, which are peak trading periods, threatening to cause disruption for consumers and businesses, and making further stockpiling of goods almost impossible”.
“It is vital that the next prime minister reaches a deal with the EU and avoids the cliff edge,” she said.
(c) Sky News 2019: Supermarkets warn October no-deal date ‘as bad as it gets’
